Handling Glass
by ButterCowLuvr
Summary: 30 short fanfics written using one of the 30Kisses lists on LJ. Mostly mangaverse, featuring Tres Iqus and Caterina Sforza. ON HIATUS
1. Water Bottles

A/N: I was extremely bored one night, so I decided to look for some challenging writing to do, and CrazyLala-Chan gave me the idea for that 30 kisses challenge, from LJ.

**A couple of notes: **First off, this collection will be mostly mangaverse. I may have slight references to the animeverse, but since I like manga!Tres WAY better than anime!Tres, the majority of these fics will be based off of him in the manga. Second, this will all be in present tense. I'm trying out a new style of writing and want to see how well I do. And third, this is my first time portraying BOTH of these characters, so I'm exited on giving them a try! That will be all.

30 kisses theme: window

disclaimer: All subject words belong to winterwing3000 in the LiveJournal community.

--

**Day 1~ Water Bottles**

**By: Xsasara**

A cough is heard in the back center of an office, a small sniffle follows, then a small amusing laugh. Her Eminence clears her tortured throat, choosing to close one of the windows beside her large desk.

"Winter is coming, Tres. Are you sure you would want such a mission?" the lady in red asks the taller cyborg as he stands perfectly still in the middle of the room, eyes looking sharp yet somewhat aggravated. He simply hates watching his Lady make such actions he deems inappropriate for a Cardinal, or unwise, such as opening a window in wintertime just for a small bit of fresh air. He does not comment on the action, but answers his Lady without hesitation.

"Positive, I have already made the proper arrangements for the mission and calculated my chance of success. It shouldn't be a problem, my Lady."

A questioning frown leaves Caterina as she adjusts her monocle slightly to keep him in focus. Tres is always so mysterious. For as long as she has known him, many of his characteristics still make her furrow her brow. Nevertheless, despite her buried fears, she has faith he would return just as well as he has done countless other times.

_Abel isn't going with him, after all... _she thinks humorously, shifting her hand to settle under her chin, not realizing she has been keeping her eyes on the respectable man ever since she closed the window. Tres, of course, doesn't notice when his eyes occupy on the wallpaper behind the Cardinal's desk.

Caterina now notices something, and is not staring at his face, but another rather questionable object in her subordinates right hand,set in a light grasp. Leaning forward all the way in her chair, she rises out gracefully, making out the shape of a plastic cylinder type container.

"Tres," she speaks clearly, immediately getting his attention, face for the most part emotionless, with a hint in concern and a dash of curiosity, "is that....a water bottle?" the Cardinal finishes, pointing and without shame at asking. After all, since when do cyborgs _need_ water anyway?

Tres blinks and brings his eyes to meet his superior's. He doesn't react at first when finally glancing down at the medium sized water-filled plastic bottle. Suddenly advancing towards her, Caterina tenses a little but doesn't move. However, Tres moves directly passed her, setting the water bottle gently on the corner of her desk.

"My lady has been experiencing the common signs associated with a human cold. I highly advise you to drink the recommended amount of water to replace lost fluid in you sickness." the cyborg answers while turning around and glancing down at the stunned Cardinal.

Caterina doesn't quite know what to say. She is, touched, you could say, by his words. After all, she does have a compartment stored for emergency items if she ever needs them in one of her desk drawers. Water bottles were among them. But Tres' uncharacteristic and thoughtful action bring Caterina's eyes to escape his piercing eyes, knowing if she looks, her face just might turn a color close to her very uniform. That would certainly not be acceptable.

She brings her gaze back and smiles softly, letting her hand come up to his arm to stroke his clothing lightly, a sign that she is grateful.

--

A/N: I thought that turned out rather nicely! Though I thought I could have done a little better with some of the word choice...I will try my hardest to keep these things regularly updated. 29 more words to go! Comment if you want!


	2. Ocean Depths

A/N: I've decided that due to my busy school schedule, taking care of my cat, and dealing with annoying family issues, I'm going to update these about every other day. Anyway, I tried to make this one deeper in meaning because, well...my muse has been preoccupied and distracted...but besides that, I tried my best!

Warnings: Spoilers for Volume 2, Act 8 of the manga

--

**Day 2~ Ocean Depths  
**

**By Xsasara**

"Really Tres, that was a rash move!" Sister Esther Blanchett goes off yet again on her just-because-you're-part-robot-doesn't-mean-you're-totally-invincible rant that often leads to a flustered Esther in the end, with the focused cyborg's eyes aiming up above at the purple evening sky. The forest clearing isn't what Esther has in mind when she suggests they camp for the night. The ground is yellow and dead plants litter the medium sized patch of earth, prickly beads surrounding the hard, broken stems.

"Sister Esther Blanchett need not worry about my safety, but her own," Tres reminds the young nun, turning away from her to blink and continue his normal patrol routine. It is rather rare for Esther and Tres to land in the same mission without at least one other person coming along as well, particularly Abel, though Caterina has other much more classified plans for him.

As Esther moves her already scarred hands to smooth a little bit of dried leaves out of the way, she settles carefully on the ground, leaning against a rude-looking tree. She crosses her arms, but moves her eyes up to examine his actions, only slightly entranced, with that leftover worry piercing her next response.

"Don't give me that, Tres," she says in a mumble, her eyes rolling at the self-assuredness of him. Sometimes she forgets he is part machine, and takes his self confident answers as a 'typical male response' instead of 'a programmed, robotic' one.

But unknown to Esther, Tres has his reasons. Despite having some common information already placed inside his semi artificial brain, he knows his own self a little too well. Perhaps that is why even his Lady, the Woman of Iron sometimes finds herself fretting about how his acting 'out of order' is something she just could not stand. She knows his strength enough to know he is very capable, but Tres can't have her constantly worrying, for he knows it only makes her health weaken from stress. His understanding of human fear can only travel so far with only limited explanation.

In his memory archives, he has had several instances where this fear not only happens in Caterina, but also in Abel, his comrade.

"_Mermaids have a battle advantage under water. Why did you engage in such a situation, Father Nightroad?"_

"_You idiot! At that rate you'd be a gonner!"_

"_Negative, I would only break."_

"_Don't play nonchalant! You were upside-down, stupid!"_

Of course, he's had many arguments with Abel about how his actions affect people. He doesn't take many to mind, even if in the little human brain he has left, he feels a small gratefulness, a tiny reaction.

It is small back then, and doesn't matter at that time.

But now, when Esther does her normal rant routine, he knows her intentions, but never truly wonders about how he would one day be 'shut down for good'.

"Sister Esther Blanchett?" The cyborg turns from his last scan of the area and moves to sit near her as well, though not against a tree, but in front on the ground. He waits until he has her attention, then continues: "I would like to ask a rather personal question."

Esther at first is not phased by this statement, though her surprise registers a few moments after it is said and she finds herself stumbling over words, a trait she still could not get rid of.

"Erm...Sure, Father Tres," she answers him formally, not sure of the sudden change in mood.

"Knowing Father Nightroad is capable of managing his own just fine, why must you use anxious interrogation to express your obvious fear? Your given reason earlier does not comprehend."

Esther stares wide-eyed up at him, a faint blush arises as she covers her mouth with one hand, wanting to turn away. She is at first unsure of how to respond, not wanting others to know of her awkward and wrong feelings for the tall silver-haired man. She inhales, looks back, trying her hardest to keep her face neutral.

Tres' face, thank goodness, is emotionless as ever.

"Well," she begins, letting one of her gloved fingers tap lightly in her chin, "when two people share...a connection, that connection makes them both strong and weak. I worry about Father Nightroad because of that connection, and because of my....rather conflicting strength."

"Negative, strength is the capability to how well you can perform a task. You are either one or the other. There is not 'both'," Tres replies immediately, taking note of Esther's flash of annoyance at being interrupted.

"That's not what I mean, Tres," she continues, "I don't mean physical strength, but emotional, mental..." she trails off as she suddenly feels uncomfortable with where this conversation may lead. Taking off her gloves slowly to stall some time, she thinks carefully at her next sentence, thanking God for Tres' patience.

"When two people share this certain type of connection, they feel closer to that person. They feel like they can open up more and be who they really want to be. They don't have limitations to thoughts and doubts. This connection, in my opinion, is the gateway to a person's soul, like looking through a window into a mirror on the other side."

She says it like it's lines from a play. She remembers her teaching from Lady Laura so well, like it only happened yesterday.

Tres stays silent for a moment, staring ahead and trying to process this new information. Souls? He couldn't have a soul, could he? Connections were a binding of two objects or ideas, what does that have to do with his question?

Letting out a hopeless and little amused sigh, Esther is more than eager to elaborate.

"Let me give you an example," she says, "You share a connection....with your Lady Caterina."

"Negative, I am a machine, they do not feel connections with humans."

Rolling her eyes at him, she mentally slaps herself for how....dumb he could be sometimes.

Honestly...

"You are only part machine, Tres," she tells him, shifting a little in the grass, not wanting her body to fall asleep, "your connection is loyalty. You want to protect the Cardinal, don't you?"

"Positive, it is my job to do so, how I am programmed."

Esther laughs at him, though Tres doesn't find it so funny.

"Action does not compute in current situation, please elaborate." he demands, narrowing his eyes at the now stifled laughter emitting from the young nun's lips.

"You may be programmed to do certain things, but you still have emotions whether you like it or not."

Esther, of course, knows how he will respond, but she doesn't give into that. She finds another way to convince him.

"You care about your Lady Caterina's safety, don't you?" she prods, giving him a friendly smile.

Tres considers this question for a moment before answering.

"Machines don't know care."

"But /you/ care," she shoots back.

"...Phrase does not compute."

"Admit it, Tres."

"Phrase does not compute, " he repeats.

Silence fills the forest clearing as Esther's hands shoot up in exasperation. She finally gets up from her spot, glaring slightly. She remembers something she read once in a book. It is slightly cheesy and may not help in her situation, but she has to try it out. Raising her voice and talking with an artificial authority, she spoke again.

"Caring is like the depths of the widest ocean. The deeper the ocean is, the more your care and the more you advance into the unknown characteristics of the one you care and love for, Tres! That's why Lady Cardinal is worried for you! That's why she's always onto you about going against her orders. It may not to love, but I know it's something close."

Crickets sound softly in the distance as Tres sat still as a statue, eyes focusing on the bark of the tree Esther previously leaned against. His archive activates, and the Professor's voice fills his auditory sensors.

"_Abel does have a point you know Tres. It's not good to needlessly injure your own body."_

How such a personal question could stir up Esther so much is beyond his comprehension, but perhaps someday he'll understand. The ocean is a vast body, after all. It's only nature to lose yourself from time to time in the tides of the blankness his artificial brain created, and the wall his emotion inhibitor put up for an advantage of his greatest fighting and functioning, blocking others from invading his unraveled and underused feelings.

Blocking everyone, except Caterina.

--

A/N: So...I'm rather weirded out by this one. I really didn't expect a long conversation between Esther and Tres to be brought out. I hope I didn't bore any of you! Constructive Criticism is welcome!


	3. Kaleidoscope

A/N: I deeply apologize for how late this update is! School has been hard and I've spent the past couple of weeks writing a college English paper. But now it's done and I can finally breathe! Hopefully, I can get back in the kick of writing more of these themes.

Disclaimer: characters not mine.

--

**Day 3~ Kaleidoscope**

**By Xsasara**

Beauty is almost always in the eye of the beholder. True beauty doesn't have a definition, and colors are never quite the same to every person. Being a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Caterina knows too well about beauty. Inside and outside the church gleams with pleasant colors, light reds and whites, bronze and silver, browns and tans. While outside reveals blues, greens, yellows...bright, natural colors. The simple tints, a heartbeat away.

Sighing in a frustrated way, Cateringa Sforza rubs at her temples, not really paying attention to the useless argument playing out before her. What a downer on her day.

"I'm not sure why you're so upset at me all of a sudden, Kate!" the professor, always seemingly calm and sofisticated in manner, now spoke with a distastfulness as he glares at the holografic nun with hands positioned at her waist, tapping her foot as if she were scolding her very own child.

"You know very well what it was you did, William! Best you admit it yourself!" Kate raises her voice, crossing her arms, glaring right back.

Honestly, Caterina thinks, one would think this to be a middle school classroom. She watches in slight amusement at their fight. Caterina know it has something to do with another invention of the Professor's. She also knows how much Kate hates to be around when he "tests" them.

This little invention, however not even considered an invention to some standards, has been the cause of most of the discomfort the whole day. Personally, Caterina hasn't seen the "dangers" and fussing enough to really bother looking into.

"It was /just/ a color telescope!" the professor makes a note to stress the 'just' in his sentense, making it out as if Kate's reaction is over the top.

Which Caterina knows very well it is. Despite Kate looking as young as she did, she's known William for years. Surely she'd be a little used to his random inventing by now.

Apparently not.

"/Just/ a color telescope?" Kate practically shouts this time, "well that little /thing/ of yours nearly brought down the Iron Maiden!" Her picture distorts for a moment, before flashing back into focus.

"Ohh, I'm sure /that/ wasn't the reason, my dear Kate. Surely something much more powerful than a 'little' telescope can bring down such a ship as mighty fine as yours." The professor attempts a smile of consideration, despite Kate's angered face.

"Don't try fancy talking your way out of this, William!" she threatens, pointing a finger in his direction and narrowing her eyes, "I never want to see that thing again on my ship. How could you be so careless?"

Caterina looks to the professor suddenly, eyes growing wider and hand moving to stifle a small chuckle. So /that/ was the cause of all this trouble, eh? Looking in the professor's left hand, she eyes the mysterious cylinder object curiously. The color, fine and gold as it is, has dust marks where it apparently hit some sort of mechanical part of the ship. How'd he ever manage to get it back? Caterina wondered to herself, ignoring Kate's open mouthed gaze in her direction when hearing the interjection.

"Pardon me, Lady Caterina, for my rudeness, but it seems as if you find my ship troubles to be humorous?" the girl inquires, raising an eyebrow and temporarily forgetting her anger at a now nervous looking professor.

Caterina immediately realizes her mistake and her eyes soften slightly. Sister Kate hmphs a little at the gesture, not buying it one bit.

"Father Tres," Caterina calls, motioning her hand towards a corner of the room, where emotionless male stood almost invisibly quiet and still. Moving his enhanced eyes towards his lady, he speaks at her side, "My lady has requested me presence." Looking down at her from the side, Caterina can feel herself growing strangely warm at the gaze, noticing Sister Kate giving William a strange look.

Shaking her head slightly, she holds her hand outward towards William's. "The color telescope, if you will, please." She firmly says, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she sees his restrained look of disappointment mixed with dismay. Nevertheless William shakes off the feeling, holding his head high and moving directly in front of her, giving her the politest of bows.

"As you wish, your grace," he says a bit flatly, obviously annoyed at Sister Kate's lack of a sense of humor, and feels a bit on edge, but realizes his mistake. Respecting the wishes of the Vatican always came first before his little inventions, even if he could not always stick to that. He sets the little device on her desk and instantly turns away, bowing again at Sister Kate despite her grumpiness. As the door softly closes, Sister Kate curtsies herself before dissolving into nothing.

Now completely alone with her bodyguard, Caterina stares at the object rather curiously, not wanting Tres to confiscate it just yet. Using a frail hand to scratch over the carvings on the side, she holds the cylinder object in her hand and removes her monocole. Bright colors invaded her left eye and she blinked back for a moment, before sitcking the cylinder closer to her face. It was like stained glass, only plastic? Except she could see small beads twist around inside when she moves her fingers to shift it. She's intranced and almost forgets Tres standing there until she feels someone brush her red sleeve.

"Requesting information, Lady Caterina." Although his phrase is still robotic enough, she can tell by his tone that he has once again turned off his emotions inhibitor when talking to her. She wonders why she's the only one he does this for, but never really wants to question him about it. After all, Tres still has secrets he keeps from her, but it's the trust she allows in herself and in him that makes their relationship almost beyong human speech. She remembers he wants an answer, but almost doesn't speak because of her obvious redness in the face.

This has to be one of the few times she is thankful Tres is a cyborg and not at all considered "up to date" on forms of interaction with others. Frankly, she still hasn't figured out how he gets along with Abel so well (so to speak).

"It's nothing, Tres," she shakes off, taking her eyes away from the entrancing coloration. She looks up to give Tres a soft glance and wonders how he's taking her rather rare behavior.

_I must seem so foolish_ she scolds herself, _first I turn red, and now I don't have anything to say back to him. _Obviously, Tres is patient enough to wait for orders, but an idea cannot help cross over her mind.

"Take a look through this," she says, not really meaning it to sound demanding, though years of habitual forcefulness leaks into those words when she feels Tres reach for the object in her smaller hands.

"I see no reason to, My lady." The cyborg doesn't flinch when Caterina rolls her eyes, but he can't help being logical about something like this. Fascinating colors or not, Tres finds no figure in the point of Caterina's new excitable activity.

Blues and reds meet his artificial eyes as he stares quite breiftly through the small looking glass, noticing the beads inside shift as well under his metallic touch. They move so quickly, each color apprearing and disappearing the second his hand shifts again. They are brief, but they are beautiful. Tres doesn't understand.

"You don't have to always have a reason for admiring beauty, Tres," the woman of steel says somewhat absently, tilting her head to the side and gazing upon the featurs of her bodyguard as he continues to twist the object in front of his eyes.

Tres tenses after she speaks, immediately taking the object away from his eye. He frowns vaguely, and Caterina wonders if she has upset him in some way. But of course, where would the fault lie?

Finally lifting herself from the chair, she slowly takes the object from him, surprised that her hands had to almost pry at it. Is his grip really this strong? Locking eyes with the Dutches of Milan, a softness comes and goes in a small incrimint of time, leaving Caterina to do nothing but share in his struggle to regain "lost" emotion. That color in which she finds fascinating doubles with the understanding she grasps whenever his inhibitor reaches a breaking point in his system.

That invisible color shared in the kaleidoscope magnifies in the office when Caterina finally clears her throat and sits back down with the toy, narrowing her eyes in thought at what it seems to symbolize. Perhaps it's significance is fake and unimportant, perhaps not. But the rooms spins with the fleeting emotion of her cyborg friend, a kaleidoscope of color indeed.

--

A/N: I had a rather hard time finishing this little oneshot. Perhaps it's because it's been a while since I've updated and forgot how the original plot went. For starters, the ending did not come out the way I originally wanted it to, but that seems to happen in a lot of stuff I write nowadays. I apologize for OOC-ness on Caterina and Tres' part. I'm new at writing for them.


	4. Dear Diary

A/N: Here's chapter four for you! It hasn't been TOO long since I posted chapter three, I hope. I've been preoccupied with many different things lately. I've been reading the Fullmetal Alchemist manga, bowling tryouts were today, and I just received yet another semi-massive college English assignment, plus an AP Bio project to complete over Christmas break. It's a good thing that isn't for a little while!

Disclaimer: Do not own…

--

"Happy Birthday, Tres!" an overexcited yell sounds within the halls of the Vatican. A tall silver haired man strides joyously over towards the emotionless cyborg, his face pulled into his goofiest of grins.

"Father Nightroad," Tres acknowledges, nodding in his direction when he turns around to face him. Having to look up slightly at his long time companion, his eyes still slump in the lazy way that they always have done, that ever present frown not bothering Abel in the slightest.

"Oh come now, Tres," the taller priest urges rather loudly, causing a few of the nuns to stare in question, "don't you know what today is?"

"Positive, Father Nightroad, it is the eighteenth of November and exactly 12:34 p.m. I am due back to the Duchess of Milan in thirteen minutes." The cyborg speaks monotonously, making Abel inwardly sigh at his friend's disposition. Nevertheless, he laughs humorously, raising the rectangular box in his thin hands and gesturing for Tres to take it.

"I got you a gift, Tres."

"I have no need for such things." Tres begins to turn around, but Abel was too quick and got directly in front of the other man.

"Don't be so negative, take the gift!" Abel doesn't wait for another response as he shoves the object in his comrade's hands, turning swiftly away to catch up with a scowling Noelle rounding a corner.

"Sister Noelle, wait for me!" the clumsy priest whines, earning a light sigh from the black haired nun in return.

--

It is two minutes until his appointed time to report to the Duchess, the gift still wrapped in its newspaper encasement. Glancing out a window, Tres thinks for a moment as he watches the rain fall graciously down against the clear glass, the flashes of lightning catching vaguely on the paper and illuminating the front page of yesterdays articles.

'Temperature: 65 degrees, winds from the north at high speed…' he recited to himself, now officially looking downward at the terribly wrapped package. He walks onward towards his lady's office, doing his best to conceal the gift from her prying eyes when he opens the door.

"Good afternoon, Tres," she says, standing by her window, entranced by the pounding rain.

"Duchess of Milan, you asked for my assistance?" he questions, noticing Father Havel beside her desk, only nodding kindly to his presence.

"Abel and Sister Noelle are set for their mission to Barcelona," she says quietly, "I'm sorry you had to miss out, Tres."

"Negative, Duchess," he responds, clutching tighter the diary and attempting to shove it discreetly up his wide priest sleeve, "Sister Noelle has been found capable of handling Father Nightroad in appointed missions. My presence would not have made a difference."

Raising her eyebrows, Lady Caterina turns her head sharply, her monocle away from her eye this time. "You speak so highly of her, Tres. Has she caught your attention?" she asks jokingly. Havel has to refrain from smiling as well, and Tres looks onward in confusion.

"…negative, milady."

Silence engulfs the room; it is not comfortable nor uncomfortable.

"Good," she whispers softly.

Walking forward more towards Caterina, he notices she is wearing her casual clothing, nothing professional in the slightest. Tres finds he doesn't mind her change of apparel.

"Duchess of Milan," he speaks again, this time making an effort to confront the woman about the mysterious object Abel passed to him just a little bit ago, "I would like to inquire about a gift from Father Nightroad." Pulling out the wrapped package, his hands grip the edges and he lightly tugs the paper away.

Green met his eyesight. Caterina moves from her windowsill and Havel gazes down in curiosity.

Caterina smiles, "It's your birthday today, Tres, have you forgotten?" Moving in front of him, she takes the green bound diary from his hands and opens to the first page.

"A diary? My goodness Tres, how strange of you to receive such a thing!" Her voice holds cheerful mock, as she knows the cyborg would not understand the point of diary entries, therefore making him ask of its importance.

"I do not understand…"

"Hmm…well….don't you…well I suppose you don't know…" she pauses again and points to the top of the page where a date is written in curvy black print, below runs the set of lines.

Havel laughs lightly, shaking his head and turning towards the window, clearly embarrassed by his outburst.

"Lady Caterina. This 'diary' is not in my archives. An explanation is requested."

"Explanation you say? Well let's see…" she begins, bringing a finger to her lips in thought. If Tres doesn't know what I diary is for, she will have to show him what it's for.

Then, without any second thought, or rational thinking of what would happen due to her next move, she reaches for his hands and brings her face up towards his. Careful and precise, the Lady of Steel knows of the look Havel is currently giving her, as well as the blank and caught off guard expression appearing on her bodyguards face when she pulls her face away.

She doesn't blush, she's not ashamed.

"They're for memories, Tres," Caterina whispers, unconsciously reaching for his hair to run her finger through, "and I have just given you one to record."

--

A/N:…Wow! Somewhat cheesy ending I must say. I'm a terrible writer of anything extremely fluffy and romantic, so sorry if you were disappointed and wanted that (horribly vague) kiss to proceed further. I also introduced Havel for the first time! Because the dude needs to be recognized! Honestly, he gets no love!


End file.
